Disclaimer - all recognisable settings and characters belong to J. K. Rowling.
This is a little taster of a novel I am working on. I have never posted on FanFiction before so would love some feedback!
He was immaculately presented in his black tailored robes, his hair slicked back and perfectly in place, his cold grey eyes were focused, she appeared as a whirlwind, her long red her in a messy bun atop her head, held in place by a long eagle feather quill, her robes tight in all the right places yet they still seemed to swirl around her, her eyes were bright and engaging.
They bowed in synchronism before Robards had even asked them to, placing their hands across their hearts and inclining at the waist towards each other their eyes meeting mid-bow, molten mercury against startling emerald and they rose to stand upright, their poise smooth and practiced, their wands drawn and ready.'
'You will walk to the opposite sides of the courtyard,' said Robards his voice echoing around the empty space, 'you will turn and face each other and await my signal to cast. There are to be no Unforgivables. That is the only rule of this match. Do you both understand?' They nodded their understanding, not trusting themselves to speak.
'Begin your walk,' said Robards, and then they were moving. Scorpius reached the end of the courtyard nearest the double doors and turned, Rose was across the great empty space, their classmates, tucked away behind the pillars of the courtyard where Robards had conjured a clear defensive wall to protect them from ricochets. He was so focused on Rose, on her sparkling yet determined eyes, the way her soft lips were parted in anticipation of her first spell, the outline of her figure as she raised her wand, that he missed Robards' signal to start the duel, only reacting to the movement of her raising her wand, he span out of the way of her first spell and raised his to block the second bolt of red light even as the first surged past him and crashed against the protective shield, a few of their classmates diving backwards in surprise.
To an outsider it looked like a dance. He was the lead, bold and brazen, his spell work fine, precise and practiced whilst she was fluid, her body moving to avoid his spells with agility and guile, her wand work more unpredictable and eccentric. The class could only watch as they duelled, marvelling at the display of sorcery. Rose started on the offensive drawing her wand through the air and conjuring a whip-like cord of flames that snaked their way in a loop around Scorpius, with a lazy flick of his wand the flame turned into sand and rose in a tornado, spinning across the courtyard towards Rose. She was buffeted back by the wind, she managed to get it under control by breaking through his enchantment, the sand falling in a heap on the floor before throwing a half dozen cutting jinxes towards Scorpius, they crashed against a strong golden shield with just one breaking through and opening up a vicious cut on his cheek, as the blood oozed down it he merely grinned at her, he desired this competition, he craved the win.
She conjured a wall of flame pushing it towards him, whilst launching a few minor jinxes to keep him distracted, his robes caught fire as he battled against her, and he had no choice but to vanish the outer robe and his white shirt, conjuring a ball of water around himself to protect him from the flames. When he reappeared, parting the ball of water so that it extinguished her flames the light in his eyes was serious, yet she dedicated a hint of playfulness in it. His arms and chest where flushed, and she found herself amongst the crowd of girls that were staring at the smooth, lithe and fucking hot musculature of his abdomen and upper body. As he span on the spot, disappearing in a grey cloud and appearing a few feet behind her she noted a series of long white scars across the pale skin of his back. He retaliated to her flames with a snaring jinx as dozens of vines came boiling out of the stones beneath her feet, snaking their way around her legs and up her body like a cutting of Devil's Snare. She waved her wand, lighting up the area around her and the plant recoiled, shrinking back into the earth.
She could swear like an Auror, and in half a dozen languages to boot, and that was what she did wrenching her gaze away from the ground and hurling curses and hexes at Scorpius in a barrage, narrowly avoiding the torrent that he returned. He duelled better than anyone she'd faced, possibly even as skilled as her uncle, and she knew from the first minute it was not a duel she could win, he was using spells she had never even heard of. But she could drag this fight out for as long as possible, her pride was at stake By now the class should have ended, the bell had already rung and students and teachers from other classes on their way to the Great Hall had stopped to watch the open-air exhibition, soon word had spread, and it seemed that most of the school had become engrossed in their display.
'Avamis' was the next spell he sent her way, yet another obscure piece of magic she didn't know existed, but she still reacted as tiny bolts of blue light swarmed towards her, burning small holes in her robes, she banished the blue lights by plunging the area around her into darkness and when she stepped out of the shadows and launched her next barrage of spells he transfigured one of the statues in the courtyard to stand in front of him whilst raising paving stones from the ground to build a wall between them. She smashed through it with an explosion hex, and he was thrown backwards under a shower of rubble, he pointed his wand towards the sky and cried,
'Tempestas' the clouds over their heads darkened and a lightning bolt, a streak of pure blue and white energy came arcing out of the sky crackling with electricity,
'Confrego,' she shouted, throwing the strongest shield she could muster above her head, it arched upwards in a silver dome that encased her body. It held. Just. The lightning cracked against its surface, dissipating into steam in the light drizzle that had begun to drip down upon them. He had climbed free of the rubble by the time she lifted her , Neville, Lysandra and Robards were all stood side by side their wands drawn ready to intervene at a moment's notice yet transfixed by the level of duelling before them. Her hair was loose, and it whipped through the air, her robes were ripped and torn, his arms were an angry red from her flames, he was bruised and grazed from the explosion, and he was bleeding from a half dozen different cuts, the slicing jinx had always been a favourite of hers.
She gave her wand a complicated wiggle and ropes appeared from thin air, wrapping themselves tightly around his arms and throat, he made a vicious cutting gesture and was free within moments but it was the split-second opening she'd been waiting for, she threw her next jinx and he left out a yelp of pain as the wand in his hand grew burning hot, scorching the skin, marking him, instinctively he let go, the wand arching out of his grip and into the crowd behind him, and then,
'Stupefy!' she cried, the crowd gasped as they saw the stunning spell shoot towards the unarmed boy, yet their gasp of triumph, turned to one of disbelief, as teeth gritted and a look of utter determination upon his face he closed his eyes and raised his right hand… and the stunning spell bounced away from his body, a deep sound filled the courtyard as the shield he'd conjured around himself hummed with the contact of the two spells. And then with an almost casual flick of his hand, his final spell, unspoken, his eyes closed and with no wand in his hand, hit her. A simple disarming charm. Her wand flew high up into the air and her legs wobbled, she stumbled backwards, and then felt them give way in exhaustion.
And that is how it finished. Rose Weasley splayed out on her back, her wand clasped tightly in his fist, pressed up against her neck. They were both panting heavily, the air thick with the tang of their mixed sweat and the remnants of the spells they had cast. Perspiration rose in a sheen across his chest. She withdrew a sweet from the breast pocket of her robe and popped it into her mouth, grinning sweetly up at him. He winked down at her. He could hardly breath, he rolled to the side of her, pressing her wand back into her coughed and they came out of their revery to see the rest of the school staring open-mouthed at them both. Scorpius scrambled to his feet, his face flushed as he reached out a hand and hauled up upright, tingling at the contact as their skin met.
'Thanks,' she said kissing him lightly on the cheek, he lifted his fingers to the place her lips had branded him in surprise, and she blushed and turned away.
'That was an impressive duel,' said Robards, raising his voice, 'for my class your homework for the day is to analyse that in essay form, Mr Malfoy and Miss Weasley are of course, excused. Some of your spell work was exquisite, well done.' The crowd broke into applause, Scorpius could pick out the faces of their friends and teachers, Albus Potter white as a sheet as he stared at his best friend and cousin, whether due to their duel or the fact Rose had kissed Scorpius on the cheek he couldn't tell. Isabella Lestrange a look of pride upon her face as if she alone knew what Scorpius Malfoy was truly capable of, Nott, Zabini and Rosier, whooping and cheering, the Gryffindors looked proud at the skill of Rose Weasley even if she hadn't managed to win. McGonagall with her hand on her chest taking in deep breaths supported by a very relieved looking Neville, Lysandra Viridian surveying the pair as if re-evaluating them.
'Mr Malfoy. Miss Weasley. A word,' came McGonagall's strict voice over the murmuring of the crowd as she regained her full control, her face fixed in a mask they could not decipher, she led them to an alcove just inside the Great Hall. 'Never in all my years teaching. In all my years as a Witch, have I seen such a display of Sorcery. Some of the magic you performed today I have only ever seen at the hand of Albus Dumbledore. Incredible. I had intended to have this conversation with you both towards the end of the year yet the restraint and skill you both showed today has proven to me that you have earned the right through your maturity, your skill and your intelligence. My goal by the time you had graduated was to prevent you from continuing the old rivalry you'd inherited from your parents in your First Year. The faults of your fathers are not your own. But it seems you did not need my guidance… as the intelligent, young adults you are, you seem to analyse your relationship beyond its surface value. I couldn't be prouder of you both. You are truly gifted magicians. And truly gifted human beings. Now, off to the hospital wing Mr Malfoy, some of those cuts and burns look nasty.'
Albus accompanied him up to see Madame Longbottom, keeping up a running commentary and blow-by-blow account of their duel which Scorpius could hardly remember, it had been pure instinct that had directed his wand.
'And that bolt of lightning!' he exclaimed as they emerged onto the corridor leading to the Hospital Wind, 'I thought you'd have Rosie cooked, Robards even lifted his wand but then she conjured that silver shield and when she disarmed you, I thought you were done for. Since when could you do wandless and non-verbal magic like that?
'I've always had an affinity for it,' Scorpius admitted, 'but it was mainly through instinct today,'
By the time he had finished in the Hospital Wing, Albus had already headed down to dinner. He began to make his way there too but he half crashed into Rose on his way. She caught the roiling storm of his grey eyes as he held her upright and they changed. They emchanged/em. And before she could take a conscious thought she was moving. He uttered a grunt of pain as Rose collided with his chest, sending them both back a couple of steps, molten mercury met blazing emerald once more and he knew her intent even before she had fully comprehended what she was doing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged his head down for a passionate kiss, his back hit the wall and he whimpered into her mouth as his hands went to her hips, driving her body into his. He was the first to break away but before she could protest, his lips were on her neck, her legs, already weak from their dual, quivered and she let out a moan. One of his hands trailed a line of fire up her spine as it came to rest behind her head, whilst one of hers traced gently along his jawline, cupping his cheek, and bringing his lips back up to hers, the other fisting in his mussed-up hair. His tongue pushed against her lower lip and then slipped inside her parted mouth at her moan of longing. The stories she'd heard about him were evidently true, he was very, very good at this.
Their bodies were pressed so tightly against each other that she could feel the rapid beat of his heart. When they finally drew back, they were breathing hard, his pupils were blown with a look of surprise upon his face, she with a defiant, wild, fire in her eyes. His hair was ruffled from where she had gripped him and their clothing was askew from the press of their bodies, her skirt bunched up against her thighs. He was still shirtless, a bandage wrapped around his arm, she trailed her fingers lightly over his chest, tracing some of the silvery scars that marred his pale skin.
'How?' she asked softly
'When my father taught me how to duel there was not holding back. His lessons were always like that. The only way I could stop this was to get better and to beat him. I was twelve when we first drew wands against each other; two years later I bettered him. We haven't duelled since.' She brushed her lips lightly against his again and then bit down softly on his lower lip, he groaned, tracing the bruising on the side of her face, muttering a healing charm into her soft hair, she felt the warmth spread through the skin alleviating the pain.
'Why did you just kiss me?' he asked, 'twice.'
'You have to admit our relationship has changed drastically this year, there was too much emotion in that duel for me to continue to keep quiet about how I think I feel, especially after what happened at Christmas,' she whispered against his chest, 'besides,' she grinned cheekily, 'you kissed me back.''
'And how do you think you feel?' he asked grinning silently into her hair, yet she could feel his smile pressing into her head.
'I know that I don't hate you anymore,' she offered, he laughed forcing a smile from her too,
'You know what Rose?' he replied, 'I don't think I hate you either.'
When they came down to dinner and entered the hall together, splitting at the door to head to their separate tables the noise of students only seemed to increase as they craned their heads to look at the students who had fought out the greatest classroom duel in Hogwarts history.